You Can Have Los Angeles
by Rozozzy
Summary: Chloe is forced to choose between her girlfriend and her best friend. AU where Max never left Arcadia Bay.


**A/N:** This piece was inspired by the song "Manhattan" by Sara Bareilles.

* * *

The sun is setting. Chloe and Rachel are at the beach, with their jeans rolled up and their feet wet, sandy, and numb from the coldness of the water. They're standing at just the right distance from the shore, enough to get their feet splashed but not drenched. Rachel's humming a song Chloe doesn't know as her arms are wrapped around Chloe's waist. Rachel digs her face into Chloe's neck, and she plants tiny kisses against her skin. Chloe sighs.

"Beautiful," Rachel says.

"Yeah," Chloe says in agreement. "If there's one thing this shit town is good for, it's sunsets."

"Mmm," Rachel hums. "Definitely. But I wasn't talking about that."

"Oh?"

Rachel gives Chloe a tight squeeze. "I'm referring to you!" she says, and Rachel spins around to meet Chloe's face, grinning. Chloe gives a light smile. Rachel leans into Chloe, sliding her mouth onto hers. Chloe's hands grasp at Rachel's waist, and Rachel snakes her fingers through Chloe's hair. When they break apart, Rachel stares at Chloe intently. "Did you really mean that?" she asks.

Chloe scratches the back of her head. "Mean what?"

"Arcadia Bay," Rachel says. "You really think it's a shit town?"

"Hell yeah," Chloe snorts. "There's you. There's Max. That's it. All that's keeping me here. If it wasn't for you two, I'd get the fuck outta here as soon as I got enough cash."

Rachel nods. She bites her lip and cocks her head to the side. "What if," she begins, "what if I told you I got my hands on some cash? Enough to get you and me the hell out of Arcadia Bay?"

Chloe's face lights up. "Holy shit. Dude, are you fucking serious?" she asks, incredulous. "Hold up. Where we would go?"

"Los Angeles," Rachel says without missing a beat. "I've always wanted to be a model." She poses for Chloe, head hanging back, hair flying with the wind, and the water splashing at her feet. Chloe grins. "L.A. is where it's at!" Rachel continues. "Imagine you and me taking on California together. We'd be unstoppable. You could drive your truck and we could ditch Arcadia Bay _tonight._ "

"Fuck yeah!" Chloe beams, and Rachel leaps into Chloe's arms. Chloe then takes a step back and lets go of Rachel to meet her eye to eye. "Wait a minute," Chloe says, shaking her head. "This isn't right. What about Max?"

Rachel sucks in a long breath and sighs. "Don't have enough to bring her along," she tells Chloe. "Otherwise, I would definitely take her with us."

Chloe rubs her head, agitated and deep in thought. She shakes her head again and then plops onto the sand. Chloe sits with her elbows on her knees. "Rachel," she says, "I can't just leave Max. She's my best friend."

Rachel furrows her brow, mouth ajar and face stricken with hurt. "I'm your girlfriend," she says. "I thought _I_ was your best friend."

"And you are," Chloe reassures her. "It's just that… _Rachel_ , you know how much Max means to me. Max gave up her dream of going to Seattle so she could stay and support me when I lost my dad. Those were some of the shittiest months of my life, but Max was there for it all."

Rachel sighs. "So I'm confused," she says. "Do you wanna ditch this town or not?"

"I do; you _know_ I do," Chloe says. "But not without Max."

Rachel remains frozen as she stands on the shore, the waves rising and falling against her icy feet. She walks over to Chloe and sits beside her on the sand, and she rests her head on Chloe's shoulder. Tears are dripping off of Chloe's face onto Rachel's. Rachel intertwines her fingers with Chloe's and gives Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Chloe," Rachel says softly. "You love me, right?"

"I love you," Chloe chokes out. "Rachel, of course I love you."

Rachel lifts her head and leans into Chloe's ear. "Run away with me, then," she whispers. "Leave it all behind. Leave your pain and your past here in Arcadia Bay. We'll wave it goodbye as we drive away." Her grip on Chloe's hand tightens. "If you really love me, you'll come with me," Rachel says, voice trembling. "If I'm truly your best friend—and not Max—you'd go to L.A. with me."

She lets go of Chloe's hand and stands up. Rachel turns her back to Chloe, facing the ocean. She speaks to Chloe but doesn't turn to face her. "I can't stay here when I'm this close to reaching my dreams. Meet me by the lighthouse if you're still down. I'm leaving for L.A. at midnight, with or without you." She turns to face Chloe. "Please don't abandon me, Chloe," Rachel says, and then she picks up her shoes from the ground and walks away.

* * *

It's eleven at night and Chloe's still at the beach, sitting on the sand and trembling as the waves crash against the sandy shore. Her breath is shaky and she can't concentrate on anything except her conversations with Rachel. Chloe jolts. She hears footsteps approaching. Chloe turns and sees the silhouette of Max, who wears a cozy sweater and carries a hoodie in her arms.

"I got your text," Max says. She hands Chloe the hoodie. "Here."

"You're a lifesaver," Chloe says, shivering. Max plants herself next to Chloe, while the latter throws on the hoodie. "Seriously. You totally just saved my ass from freezing hell over."

Max giggles. "It'd be pretty cool if your ass could freeze hell over," she points out. Chloe laughs, but it's half-forced. Max scoots closer to her. "Is everything okay?"

Chloe releases a frustrated sigh. She stares at the sand, picking it up and letting it slip through her fingers. "How would you feel if I just left Arcadia Bay?" Chloe asks slowly. "Tonight."

Max doesn't speak for a few seconds. The sounds of the ocean and late night cars are all that fill the silence in between them. "Chloe," Max eventually says. "What's going on?"

A deep pit digs into Chloe's chest and she feels sick to her stomach. Chloe shakes her head as she fights off tears that are desperate to flood out. "Rachel wants me to go to L.A. with her," Chloe chokes out. "But I told her I can't just leave you here! And so now I'm torn! I don't know what I should do. I love her but, I can't just abandon you like this. Not after all we've been through."

Max wraps her arms around Chloe and holds her tightly. Chloe begins sobbing into Max as she embraces her back. Max keeps one hand around Chloe while the other rubs her back. Max wants to cry too, but she holds it inside her. "Chloe, you're my best friend," Max says. "I'm happy as long as you're happy. If you want to go to L.A. with Rachel, _go._ I won't stop you." Max flashes a gentle smile. "You won't be abandoning me, okay? But don't go for Rachel. Go for you. Go because it's what you want for _you._ "

Chloe wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie. "Do you want me to stay?" Chloe asks. "If you ask me to stay with you, I'll stay."

"I can't do that, Chloe," Max says. "I'm not going to beg you to pick me over Rachel. You have to decide that for yourself."

"Ugh, Max," Chloe groans. "You're not making this easy for me!"

"Who do you love more?" Max asks. The bluntness of the question catches Chloe off-guard. "The answer to that question is the answer to your problem."

"Rachel's my girlfriend," Chloe says. She sighs deeply. "Rachel is my girlfriend," she repeats. Max simply stares at Chloe with wide eyes, nodding carefully. "Rachel Amber is my girlfriend. I love her more than you," Chloe states, hesitant. She bites her lip. The way it sputters out of her mouth doesn't feel right. It doesn't sound right. "I love Rachel more than you," she repeats, with less confidence than ever.

Chloe shakes her head. "No," she says. "I can't say it. This isn't right."

"You know the answer," Max says. "I know you do. You just won't admit it."

Chloe closes her eyes and holds her breath. Then, she exhales slowly. "Rachel is my girlfriend," Chloe says. She opens her eyes and focuses her attention to Max. "I love Rachel," Chloe says, and that she is sure of. "But I don't love her more than you." This time, the way it rolls off her tongue feels so natural. Like it's meant to be said. "I'm staying in Arcadia Bay," Chloe says firmly. "For now. At least until I can leave with you."

Max nods. "You gonna try the whole long distance thing with Rachel?"

Chloe thinks about Rachel for a moment. Rachel is fun and sexy and one hell of a girl to be around. But there's something missing. There's a feeling in Chloe's gut that she can't shake, a feeling that tells her _it's not meant to be._ She thinks about all the times Max is there for her when Rachel isn't, all the nights Chloe is left wondering where Rachel is, worried sick, only to receive a half-hearted explanation in the morning, and Chloe starts thinking _maybe Rachel doesn't really love her as much as she thought._

Chloe then glances at Max, smiling. Looking at Max, hearing Max, it makes her feel light. At peace. Like she can finally fucking relax after all the goddamn anxiety. Max tilts her head to the side, and Chloe realizes that she's been staring. Her face heats up. She's grateful it's nearly pitch black out.

"Nah," Chloe finally says. "Rachel's gonna meet tons of other people in California." Chloe lies back against the sand, and Max joins her. "She doesn't need me. Not really."

"I need you," Max states. They both roll onto their sides so they're facing each other. Their foreheads are pressed together and the tips of their noses are touching. Chloe breathes in Max's scent, loses herself in Max's eyes, and smiles.

"I need you too."

 _Fin._


End file.
